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Friends: The Reunion

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"Friends: The Reunion"
Friends reunion episode
Directed byBen Winston
Produced by
Original air dateMay 27, 2021 (2021-05-27)
Running time1 hour 39 minutes

"Friends: The Reunion", also known as "The One Where They Get Back Together", is a 2021 reunion special of the American television sitcom Friends. The episode is executive produced by the show's co-creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Kevin S. Bright, the show's main cast, and Ben Winston (who also directed the special). The unscripted episode sees the main cast revisit the sets of the original show (such as the Friends apartments, the Central Perk coffee shop, and the Friends water fountain), meet with guests who appeared on the show as well as celebrity guests, do table reads and re-enactments of older Friends episodes, and share behind-the-scenes footage.[1]

The episode premiered on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max.[2]

Production

On November 12, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros. Television was developing a Friends reunion for HBO Max that would feature the whole cast and co-creators returning.[3] On February 21, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that an unscripted Friends reunion special had been commissioned with all original cast and co-creators returning.[4][5][6]

The episode was executive produced by the show's co-creators, Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and the show's main cast, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. Ben Winston directed and executive produced through Fulwell 73. Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television was also involved in the production of the episode.[4]

Filming

The episode was filmed in Los Angeles, California, at Stage 24, also known as the "The Friends Stage" at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, where Friends had been filmed since its second season.[5][7] The filming of the reunion began in April 2021. Filming of the special was delayed twice, first in March 2020,[8] and second in August 2020, both due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][9]

The trivia game and talk show segments of the special were filmed in front of a live audience of "mostly union extras, [who were] COVID screened and hired for the gig".[7]

Cast

Main cast

Original show producers

Guest stars

Release

The reunion special was originally set to be released with the launch of HBO Max on May 27, 2020, along with the other 236 episodes of the original series that were available at launch.[5] On May 13, 2021, a teaser trailer was released announcing that the reunion special was scheduled to be released on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max.[10]

The special was also released internationally simultaneously with the U.S. release on Sky One and Now in the United Kingdom,[11] Foxtel Now and Binge in Australia,[12] TVNZ 2 and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand,[13] and ZEE5 in India.[14]

In China, the special was streamed on iQIYI, Youku and Tencent Video. Although the scenes featuring Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and BTS have been removed.[15] While it's unclear who had ordered the cut, Lady Gaga has been banned following her 2016 meeting with Dalai Lama.[16] Justin Bieber was also banned from performing in China, with authorities blaming his “bad behavior” in 2017.[17] However, Bieber has been promoting his past two albums Justice and Changes on Chinese music platforms.[18][19] BTS faced boycott calls in China in 2020 after band member RM endorsed the alliance between the United States and South Korea during Korean War.[20]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the special has an approval rating of 65% based on 20 reviews, with an average score of 6.7/10.[21] On Metacritic, the special has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 indicating "generally favorable reviews" based on 19 critics.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gonzales, Erica; Mackelden, Amy (2021-05-19). "The 'Friends' Reunion Trailer Is Here, and It's So Emotional". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  2. ^ Swift, Andy (May 13, 2021). "Friends Reunion Special Gets May Premiere Date on HBO Max — First Look". TVLine. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 12, 2019). "'Friends' Reunion Special in the Works at HBO Max (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "The One Where They Got Back Together | WarnerMedia Pressroom". WarnerMedia. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (February 21, 2020). "'Friends' Reunion Special Officially A Go At HBO Max With Cast Returning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ^ "Friends to reunite for one-off special on HBO Max". BBC News. February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "The Friends reunion has been filmed in Los Angeles: Here's what we know". BBC News. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 18, 2020). "'Friends' Reunion Special Delayed at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  9. ^ White, Peter (April 2, 2021). "'Friends': HBO Max Reunion Special To Shoot Next Week". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Hibberd, James (May 13, 2021). "'Friends' Reunion Reveals First Teaser Trailer, Guest Stars and Premiere Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Swain, Marianka (May 24, 2021). "Everything we learnt from the Friends Reunion trailer". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  12. ^ Marshall, Alice; Lambrechts, Stephen (May 25, 2021). "Where to watch Friends: The Reunion in Australia - stream the new special this week". TechRadar. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  13. ^ Friday; May 2021, 21; TVNZ, 5:13 pm Press Release. "'How You Doin' New Zealand - Friends: The Reunion Is Coming To TVNZ | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2021-05-25. {{cite web}}: |first2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "'Friends: The Reunion' to Stream on Digital Platform ZEE5 in India". News18 India. 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  15. ^ "Why Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and BTS Are Cut From 'Friends' Reunion in China". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  16. ^ "China 'bans Lady Gaga' after Dalai Lama meeting". the Guardian. 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  17. ^ Fan, Jiayang (July 26, 2017). "Why Justin Bieber Got Banned from Performing in China". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  18. ^ "Changes". NetEase Music.
  19. ^ "Justice (中国豪华特别版)". NetEase Music.
  20. ^ Davis, Rebecca (2020-10-13). "BTS Faces Backlash in China Over Korean War Comments". Variety. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  21. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "Friends: The Reunion Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 27, 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friends:_The_Reunion&oldid=1025550029"